Biography

Howard Andrews, PhD, is Director of the Columbia Data Coordinating Center (DCC), which provides comprehensive data management, statistical and project coordination services for many federally funded research projects on the Columbia Medical Center campus. His doctoral and postdoctoral work in biopsychology was supported by NIMH, and he later earned a masterÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s degree in biostatistics at the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Andrews has expertise in research design, biostatistical methods, web-based data management systems, longitudinal studies, evaluation research, and the processing and analysis of large data sets. He is head of the Data Management and Statistics Cores of several major projects, including the Columbia AlzheimerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Disease Research Center and the Columbia Center for ChildrenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Environmental Health, and is co-director of the Data Management, Epidemiology and Statistics Core of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Andrews has been involved in the design and implementation of many large-scale randomized clinical trials, including assessments of medical and behavioral treatments to improve the lives of individuals with AlzheimerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s disease, mild cognitive impairment, stroke, complicated grief, Down syndrome, ALS, traumatic brain injury, asthma and serious mental illness.

Education

MS, 1986,

PhD, 1977, Rutgers University Newark

BA, 1971, Richmond College

Select Urban Health Activities

AlzheimerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Disease Research Center (ADRC): The Columbia AlzheimerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Disease Research Center is currently in its 6th consecutive five-year funding period. Dr. Andrews has been director of this core since the ADRC was established in 1989. The Core manages a web-accessible case-structured, longitudinal database containing clinical, demographic, neuropathological, genetic and other biomarker data on thousands of elderly individuals who are residents of New York City. Data from baseline and annual follow up evaluations are submitted monthly to the National AlzheimerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Coordinating Center. Columbia ADRC investigators are internationally recognized leaders in the field of AlzheimerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s disease research.

Center for ChildrenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Environmental Health (CCCEH): The research study, which began in 1998, examines the health effects of exposure in pregnant women and babies to air pollutants, pesticides, chemicals in plastics, and allergens. The study focus on a sample of 700 low-income mothers living in Harlem, Washington Heights and the South Bronx. CCCEH investigators have found links between prenatal exposures to common environmental pollutants and childrenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s risk of developmental delay, behavioral problems, obesity, asthma and cancer. Dr. Andrews has headed the data management core of the Center since its inception in 1998, and is a co-author of many Center publications.

Select Global Activities

Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting: Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT): The study represents the mental health research component of a broader initiative entitled Ã¢â‚¬ËœRedeAmericas,Ã¢â‚¬Â a collaborative effort of investigators from six cities across Latin America and Columbia University in New York. The RCT is designed to address a fundamental gap in the services offered by mental health clinics due to staffing and funding shortages. CTI-TS provides support for better community living, promotes social integration and strengthens connections between mental health and primary care clinics. The overall goal of CTI-TS is to improve the lives of those with severe mental disorders who receive community-based mental health care. Dr. Andrews designed the web-based data system that captures extensive clinical data on each subject at multiple points in time, generates reports for investigators and coordinators at sites in each country, and compiles reports for the Data Safety and Monitoring Board. A special feature of this system is that all data entry screens are presented in the language appropriate to each participating country: Spanish (Chile and Argentina), Portuguese (Brazil) and English (USA).

World Health Organization: ICD-11 Development for Mental Health and Behavioral Disorders: Through the Fields Studies Coordination Group (FSCG), the study focuses on development and testing of the International Classification of Disease, version 11, classifications for mental health, substance abuse and behavioral disorders. Dr. Andrews oversees a database of 11,707 mental health care providers from 139 countries who have registered in one of 9 languages to participate in survey-based testing of major ICD-11 mental health diagnostic classifications. Dr. Andrews and the staff of the Columbia Data Coordinating Center integrate registration data with responses to web-based disorder-specific surveys, and prepares the data for statistical analysis.